Cinderella
by VocalRaynbow
Summary: Sonika put her gloved hand on the girl's chin, and lifted her head up. "If you don't like this, why don't you run away?" SoniGumi, with some MiriamxLeon and LolaxLeon


Cinderella

Disclaimer: I don't own Vocaloid. Yamaha does. M'kay?

AN: Meh, we're seriously lacking SoniGumi on FFN. :/ Thought I'd add some.

----

"Sonika! Get over here."

A teenage boy was scrubbing a counter, and─ Wait, that's a _girl_. Whoops. Then again, it was pretty hard to tell. She wore baggy brown pants, a loose short-sleeved top that was burnt at the edges, and a stained apron. To put it bluntly, she wasn't wearing very nice clothes. And they were torn, charred, and smeared with dirt and bits of food. Add her completely nonexistent chest and you've got a very poor and boyish looking girl.

"I'm coming," Sonika called out, sighing. She dropped her sponge in a bucket full of soapy water (Plop!) and hurried out of the dingy bathroom. She walked down a luxuriously furnished hallway, and at the end were one huge door, and two smaller but equally big doors. She wrapped her fingers around the bronze handle of the biggest one, and with a small pull it swung forward. She stepped into a large room, adorned with silk curtains, expensive statues, and high quality paintings. In a velvet chair sat a woman with silver hair. She wore a long green gown, and a large smirk.

"Hello Sonika," the woman said coldly. A Persian cat leaped up from the floor onto her lap, and she stroked it gently. Despite her silver hair, she was not old. In fact, she was quite young. Her voice proved this, for it sounded fluid and youthful. And yet it was filled with so much hate.

"Miriam," the girl addressed the woman. She matched Miriam's sharp gaze with her own defiant one. She would resist. She wouldn't cry, like she had as a small child. She would run up to her room and cry, from all the hate and punishement.

The woman glared. "_Ms_. Miriam, to you." She shut her eyes for a moment, contemplating the situation and unconsciously petting the cat. Her eyes opened after a moment or two, and she continued, "Anyway, Prima and Sweetie Ann are going to go to the royal ball. They're hoping some nice men will come along, so help them with their dresses." It wasn't a suggestion. It was a command.

"Why should I?" Sonika snapped. She had put up with this for far too long. This woman, no, this witch made her clean, cook, and do every single darn thing. No thank yous, no breaks. Work, work, work. That's all she ever did. And boy, was she sick of it.

Miriam, who had been looking away, snapped back to reality. "I am your stepmother, since your father Leon married me. After his 'oh so perfect' wife, Lola, left him with you, brat. And since Leon passed," her eyes clouded for a moment, "I have custody over you. Complete control." She sometimes skipped over the part about her late husband, Leon. She still loved him, even if she didn't love Sonika. So talking about him, even after all these years, still hurt.

But Sonika glossed over the look of remorse in Miriam's eyes. "So what?" she snarled. "Father never said to make me a maid, did me? To make me a slave? Why did he even _marry_you?" The anger that had been building up for the last seven years had finally burst, like taking the cap off of a soda bottle that's been shaken. The foam flying everywhere, showing no mercy. Showing no regret.

Miriam's eyes widened, and she stared at Sonika in shock. He hadn't, had he? She had done that of her own accord. He wouldn't have liked how she treated Sonika. And why did he marry her? She remembered going to that pub, tired and heartbroken, after her boyfriend had left her for another woman, leaving her with her twin daughters. Alone. And then Leon came in. He had always been a good friend. They had always been close. As they grew older, Miriam fell in love with him. But no, he loved Lola. Miriam was too _cold_. Too _heartless_. But Lola had disappeared, leaving behind no trace. Except for a letter, declaring her loathing for the man.

And he had walked up to her, after his whole life had fallen apart. "Will you marry me, and help me put my life back together?" He had been in such a fragile mental state. He might've killed himself. And Miriam loved him; she hated seeing him like this. So she had agreed. Their marriage hadn't been out of love. It had been out of necessity. He had needed her. She had helped him. Until he died of disease, that is. He had never loved her.

Her every word trembled with rage and hate, for the man and his daughter, as she said, "Get out of here. Y-You know nothing. Stay home, while my daughters go to the ball. Just _get out_." Her breaths were sharp and rough, and her fists were clenched. That man, he had used her. She was a broken stepping stone. A collapsed stair. Used. Ruined. Shattered. He had torn her.

Sonika looked at Miriam, outraged. But the woman's words, dripping with malice, had scared her. She found herself scurrying out of the room. She was a _coward_. Like always. Running from the first sign of danger, if she wasn't oblivious to it. She was the cowardly victim, and Miriam was the evil witch. And Prima and Ann were her wicked spells. To torment her mind, possess her soul, manipulate her limbs. She was simply a marionette. And she had to get away.

----

Miriam had decided to accompany her daughters, and the three well dressed women were heading out the door.

"Don't do anything," Prima snarled.

"And don't touch my Miku CDs," Ann added, an equal amount of dislike in her voice.

Sonika responded by saying that she hated Miku, and had nothing in her mind to do. One statement was true. She _did_ hate Miku. How that brat had made the top ten was beyond her. That squeaky voice. Eurgh. It was torture. She gave a small wave, and shut the door. She had no desire to watch the three ladies in fine dresses enter their carriage with such 'grace'.

She had been planning this. She ran upstairs, into her room. It was a tiny room that looked more like a closet. The faded orange paint was peeling, and there were absolutely no decorations or items of value in there. Except for her outfit. She pulled open a drawer, and lifted a secret cover up. Inside was an outfit sewn in gold and green thread. Perfect.

She donned it hurriedly, and admired her attire in a fragment of glass that she had collected. It worked like a mirror, and she looked like a prince in that outfit. She never looked good in dresses, due to her boyish features and lack of bust. But she looked fine in men's wear. Smiling, she walked down the creaky stairs, and out the door. The castle was very close by. Within walking distance. She could make it.

She walked up to the entrance. "Excuse me, are Miriam, Prima, and Ann Vocaloid here?" she asked casually. The bulky man that stood there gave her clumsy nod. She drew a mask and hat out of her bag, and put them on. She was unrecognizable. "I am Sonika."

The door was opened, and she stepped inside.

It was a room bigger than she had ever seen before. Crystal chandeliers, sweeping staircases, and everything looked gold, beige, or off white. And all those people, expensively clad in formal danced and conversed, looking quite pleased with the environment. The masterpiece paintings upon the walls, the waiters carrying trays of small snacks. Foods she had never heard of before. But nothing could compare to what she saw next.

A girl stood at the beginning of the stairs. No, an angel. That soft, lime colored hair. Those eyes, shining bright with happiness. And the smile. It melted Sonika. The dress was just a cover, to hide the rest of her unmatchable beauty. So nobody in the room would faint. What was such a beautiful girl doing at the ball?

"H-Hello, I'm Princess Gumi. I organized this ball to meet the people of this kingdom, so that I may know what things you need and desire, and what things you would rather not have. And-And we will try to keep our kingdom fair and respectable."

Oh. So she was the _princess_.

Well, so much for a date. Sonika made her way through the crowd, and eventually ended up at a long table that offered bites to eat. She picked a random food, and popped it in her mouth. "Mmm," she sighed in delight as the flavor seeped into her mouth. Perfectly baked, with the right blend of sweet and sour. She had never tasted something so amazing.

"I heard those were good," a cheerful voice said. Sonika turned around to find Princes Gumi standing there. She looked tired and weary, and her smile had a bittersweet tint. And Sonika noticed this. So, fighting the urge to collapse from embarrassment, she looked slightly to the right of Princess Gumi.

"They are," Sonika nodded, agreeing. She decided to start up some conversation. "Why do you look so down?" she asked, choosing the first thing that popped into her head.

The green haired angel laughed softly, eyes twinkling. Then, her 'happiness' evaporated, and a girl stood before Sonika, green haired with the same fair skin, but most of the light had dissolved from her face. Her eyes were dull and blank. Her smile had flipped into a frown. But she still laughed, a bitter, empty laugh.

"My parents think that I should be married. This whole ball was to get me a good young man to marry. They don't care about what I feel, they just want to keep the line going. They care about who I marry, of course, but not about me. I'm just a figurehead, a doll. I mean nothing." The royal beauty stood there, face fixed on the ground. She made small sniffling noises. She was probably crying.

Sonika put her gloved hand on the girl's chin, and lifted her head up. Her eyes were indeed swollen, and her face was blotched with red. "If you don't like this, why don't you run away?" Sonika's tone was serious, yet comforting. It gave an option. A suggestion. A single beam of hope.

"B-But," Gumi continued, choking on mucus, "what if I can't find somewhere to live?"

But Sonika's gaze squashed the doubt and stomped on the fear. And Gumi decided. She took Sonika by the hand, and they ran outside. Gumi then kicked off her glass slippers and tore the bottom hem off of her dress. Yes. She would runaway. She meant nothing to the kingdom. Besides, Gakupo could take her place as the heir. He fit the role much better.

"Run away with me," Gumi whispered. And Sonika nodded. Then, knowing full well what could happen, they kissed. And true love's kiss, as it always does, awakens the princess from her spell.

And they lived happily ever after.

But only, if that's what you want to believe.


End file.
